Possible to 'widen' shoulders?

Question 1: Are there any exercises that can 'widen' your shoulder width or am I getting this all backward and we can only increase the size of the muscles surrounding the shoulder? My shoulder width is 14 inches across and I'm thinking that's pretty crappy.

I find during groundwork I'm most often on the bottom and with all the movement my shoulders get the brunt of it. Its starting to get painful especially with someone's weight on top of me and me at an elevated angle putting pressure on either shoulder.

I have an old right shoulder injury that flares up once in a while, especially when doing overhead lifts (I'm reading the sticky for shoulder rehab!).

Question 2: I've focused solely on strength training on lower body, chest and abs for the last 18 months. I haven't done much for my shoulders and worse, I can't generate much power from my shoulders as I've been able to compensate for this at jujitsu with other technique. Since I started judo, I realise I need to work more on my shoulder strength and ability to generate power from there. Any exercises that could help me here?

Thanks :new_color

"I'm reluctant to sound like a total fa66ot as well, but my background in sculpture gave me an edge in understanding how we're expected to move thru space." - The Other Other Serge

Learn to bench and overhead press properly. Perform these movements, 5x5 is a pretty good rep/set range, aim to be progressive with your poundages.

Perform Bent over Rows and Chins to ensure no muscular imbalances and plenty of rear delt work (Facepulls, band pull aparts etc)

When you've been doing this for some time maybe add some lateral raises, they work side delts the part of the shoulder that makes it appear wider.

Once you get your OHP up to bodyweight your shoulders will seem infinitely wider, remember size always follows after the nueral gains made from strength, be consistent and patient.

If you post your routine I'm pretty sure Russ/Emevas etc will be able to critique in a manner that will allow you to get in more shoulder work and eliminate any exercises that are currently exacerbating your shoulder problems.

Plus: stop pushing in the bottom portion, I know its easier said than done but keep working on shrimping etc rather than trying to bench guys off you in side mount, its not going to work, especially if (I assume) you are giving up a lot of muscular bodyweight when rolling.

The street argument is retarded. BJJ is so much overkill for the street that its ridiculous. Unless you're the idiot that picks a fight with the high school wrestling team, barring knife or gun play, the opponent shouldn't make it past double leg + ground and pound - Osiris

If you want more muscular shoulders (you won't get a whole lot of actual width), you'll want to work your deltoids.
-I'll second the recommendations for overhead presses (dumbbell or barbell, whatever's handy), although my preference is to keep barbell work in front of, not behind, the head.
-As Sakmongkol mentioned, various dumbbell raises (front and side) probably deserved a lot of the credit when my shoulders were bulky.

If you want the "invisible barrel under each arm" look, you'll want to do some lat work - dips, chin-ups/pulldowns, etc.

But generally speaking, the best plan is to pursue a well-rounded training program (with proper diet and rest) and let the cosmetic issues handle themselves.

In terms of taking a beating on your shoulders, there are the old standbys:
-Rehab your injuries
-Correct your strength imbalances
-Correct your inflexibilities
-Ensure you're warm (yes, temperature-wise) and loose before exertion/impact

Specifically, I'd hazard a guess that most people here would benefit from more external rotation work for their rotator cuffs. There are external rotation exercises with tubing, but I really like single-arm external rotations (second page, courtesy of this post).

Question 2: I've focused solely on strength training on lower body, chest and abs for the last 18 months. I haven't done much for my shoulders and worse, I can't generate much power from my shoulders as I've been able to compensate for this at jujitsu with other technique. Since I started judo, I realise I need to work more on my shoulder strength and ability to generate power from there. Any exercises that could help me here?

Originally Posted by Emevas

Good rule of thumb is for every vertical pull, do a vert. push, and for every horizontal pull, do a horizontal push.

On this same topic..when it comes to dumbell shoulder presses I find it very hard to get beyond a certain weight. Way back when I could only use 30's..I peaked with 50's and then got away from weight training for a while..now I am back and doing reps with 40's right now, but getting beyond that 40-50 lb range seems very difficult for some reason. I think the main reason is because I work out alone and without a spotter it is hard to really push myself with those exercises because the consequences of failing are too severe for me to really want to take a chance.
Advice? I am focusing mainly on chest/back/shoulders this time around.

" If one wants to have a friend one must also want to wage war for him: and to wage war one must be capable of being an enemy." - Fr. Nietzsche 'On The Friend' Thus Spake Zarathustra

On this same topic..when it comes to dumbell shoulder presses I find it very hard to get beyond a certain weight. Way back when I could only use 30's..I peaked with 50's and then got away from weight training for a while..now I am back and doing reps with 40's right now, but getting beyond that 40-50 lb range seems very difficult for some reason. I think the main reason is because I work out alone and without a spotter it is hard to really push myself with those exercises because the consequences of failing are too severe for me to really want to take a chance.

Originally Posted by Emevas

How about a barbell instead?

Or a spotter?

I personally never thought of dumbbell shoulder press as being particularly dangerous. I wouldn't want to drop a dumbbell on my toe if I were doing them standing up, but that's about it.